


unlit candles

by holy1_hell1



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, M/M, but like emotional, but they make it up to buck so it's okay, forgotten birthdays, i am incapable of writing angst without fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holy1_hell1/pseuds/holy1_hell1
Summary: Prompt: Everyone gets super busy and distracted with their own lives, so when Buck looks all sad and crestfallen at the end of a long and arduous shift, everyone is a bit confused but the chalk it up to Buck feeling bad about the multiple calls of the day. It’s when Eddie comes home and Chris asks why he didn’t bring home any cake that it dawns on Eddie that they had all completely forgotten today was Buck’s birthday. Horrified Firefam don’t know where to start making amends, Buck is heartbroken.orthe 118 forgot Buck's birthday and he's hurt.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Carla Price, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 419
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	unlit candles

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in one day so it may not be my best work but i got excited cause it's the first prompt i got.
> 
> enjoy!

**_BUCK KNOWS THAT EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN LIVES,_** Maddie and Chim where busy getting everything set up for their child, Hen and Karen are busy with Nia, Bobby and Athena (and Michael) are helping May get everything ready for university and Eddie - Buck had really thought Eddie would've remembered - was getting Christopher ready for the new school year, and he gets that he's not their first priority - hell he wasn't his own first priority - but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt any less when he'd heard Hen ask Eddie _'what's his problem today?'_ and Eddie had responded by _'beats me, i'm guessing it's just today, it's been a long day; he'll be fine tomorrow.'_

Buck had brushed it off and accepted it, he kept his head down and pushed through the day, he didn't say a word and did his work, ignoring the way his heart hurt. He should've seen it coming really, his own parents couldn't be bothered to remember his birthday, so why would they be any different? It did seem like a recurring theme with families- his to be specific - to forget his birthday, he should've been used to it by now.

He entered his apartment and slammed the door shut. Dumping his bag on the floor, he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer, chugging it in one go to stop the tears from falling down his face, it doesn't help of course, if anything it made the tears fall faster. He placed the bottle on the counter and rested his head on it, freely sobbing.

Eddie was practically running on fumes by the time he pulled into his driveway, it didn't help that Buck was shut off the whole shift - it reminded him of when he first got here, except instead of competing with Eddie, he was outright ignoring everyone. He had no idea why Buck was behaving like that, it was completely unlike him and it irked Eddie, Buck told Eddie everything, and to not know what was bothering his best friend frustrated him beyonds what words could describe.

"Eddie!" Carla called out from the front door, "Where's Buck?"

Eddie frowned, why would Buck come home with him? Sure he'd been spending more time with them but today was a long day with almost back-to-back calls with barely any downtime, they both needed time to unwind in their own homes.

He watched something shift on Carla's face, she must've seen the confusion on his face, her cheerful expression was now replaced by something that Eddie couldn't place, "Oh," She said, "Okay, I'm gonna go, Chris is tucked in, I've left some Spaghetti on the stove and you can heat it up."

Eddie watched as she grabbed her bag and keys and rushed into her car, "Carla what's going on?"

She looked at him and if Eddie didn't know any better, he could've sworn he saw disappointment in her eyes, "Bye Eddie."

"Bye?" He's left standing out on his porch, confused.

He dropped his things and made his way to Chris' room, slowly opening the door so that he doesn't wake him up, "Dad?" Well, so much being quiet.

"Hey buddy," He whispered, "How was your day?"

"It was good," He yawned, "Did you bring cake?"

Eddie frowned, "Why would I bring cake?"

"Because it's Bucky's birthday and he loves cake!" 

Oh, oh, _oh._ Eddie's heart dropped, it was Buck's birthday and _he'd forgotten._ Hell, all of them had forgotten.

"It's too late for cake," Eddie told him, "You can have the cake tomorrow."

"Okay," He agreed, his voice muffled by the pillow, "Night dad."

"Night _mijo_ ," He placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and rushed back to the living room dialling everyone, how could he have forgotten his best friends birthday? He felt awful.

A knock on his door pulled Buck out of his head, he'd stopped crying some time ago. He was sure that his face is completely red and splotchy. He ignored it in favour of drinking his third bottle of beer. The knocking continued.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," He huffed out.

He swung the door open and was greeted by Carla, "Oh Buckaroo," She whispered placing a hand on his cheek.

"Hey Carla," He winced at how rough his voice sounds.

She kissed his cheeks and Buck can't help but smile, "I got your favourite," She said as she help up a plastic bag with a logo that Buck recognises as his favourite sushi place.

He moved aside to let her in, "I don't have cake, but," She turned around and dramatically presented a cupcake, "I have this."

"Thank you Carla," He laughed, feeling happy for the first time today, "You didn't have to do this."

"You really thought I was going to let my favourite man spend today alone?" She asked, her tone playful.

"I thought your favourite man was Chris," He joked with her.

"You and I both know Chris is my favourite boy, but you, Buckaroo are my favourite man."

"You are one of a kind Carla," He hugged her, feeling lighter.

She gave him a cheeky smile and plated their food.

Buck spent the rest of his birthday with her, eating sushi and dancing to old songs, and for the first time in a long time, Buck's birthday was filled with laughter and not tears.

Everyone was early to their shift, Eddie was in charge of bringing the cake, Hen and Chim were in charge of the decorations and Bobby was in charge of the presents and making sure everyone came before Buck.

Eddie had called everyone last night and told them that it was Buck's birthday. The horrified gasp filled with guilt that came from each person eased Eddie's conscious a tiny bit, but it didn't mean that he still didn't feel like an absolute jackass for forgetting his best friends birthday.

_"Hen," He breathes into the phone, "We messed up, we messed up big time."_

_"Eddie what's wrong, are you hurt?"_

_"It's Buck's birthday today."_

_"Oh, Oh. Oh my god," She whispers, guilt filling her, "We forgot, we forgot his birthday."_

_Eddie had spent the next two hours on the phone with everyone, arranging for everything. He didn't even blink when his credit card took a hit - next day deliveries were expensive as it, add it the fact that they were in Los Angeles, the price almost doubled._

The cake and presents were neatly arranged on the table and everyone had taken their positions, all they had to do was wait for Buck.

Buck was confused. The firehouse was empty as he entered, the trucks and ambulance were still in the station so they weren't out on a call. He racked his head trying to think of what was so special today's as there some meeting he'd forgotten about? He cursed, if there was he was so screwed. He sighed and quickly changed, he'd have to deal with it later.

He trudged up the stairs, still keeping an eye out for everyone. He stopped in his tracks as he eyes fell to the cake and the present surrounding.

"SURPISE!" A chorus of voices yelled and Buck nearly fell backwards out of surprise.

He blinked in surprise as the members of the 118 came out from various different hiding spots. He swallowed down his surprise and smiled at them, "What's this all about?"

"What's - Buck," Chim said as he came into view, "This is your birthday party, the one that was due yesterday."

Oh.

"We're sorry, really sorry for forgetting about it," Hen apologised.

Buck's already forgiven them.

"It's alright, you guys were busy." He waved his dismissively. 

"It's not and we're really sorry."

"Hen, it's okay, it happens, people forget things."

Hen looked like she was going to say something else but she gave him small smile and moved out, Bobby was behind her.

"Happy belated birthday Buck," He smiled, "I hope you like chocolate cake."

"Are you kidding? I love chocolate cake."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I ordered it then," Buck turned around and saw Eddie making his way towards him, "I'm sorry about forgetting your birthday, I really am."

"Like I told Hen, it's okay - it's in the past now."

Eddie smiled and Buck smiled back, "C'mon you got to cut the cake," Eddie placed a hand on the small of his back and guided him towards the table. 

"Wait!" Chim shouted, "Maddie's going to kill me if we cut the cake without her!"

Buck laughed at the fear on Chim's face.

"This isn't funny Buck!"

"It kinda is."

Maddie had reached a few minutes alter, carrying a ginormous bag as waddled up the stairs.

"I'm sorry Evan," She'd whispered as he hugged her and he told her what he'd said to everyone.

He'd cut the cake soon after that, Eddie's hand still hadn't left the small of his back but Buck didn't complain, he enjoyed the warmth it brought him.

He may not have celebrated his birthday on his actual birthday, but he didn't mind, he got to spend the day with his family and that's all that really mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope ya'll enjoyed it!
> 
> school literally starts tomorrow and i'm so pumped but absolutely scared at the same time cause i'm entering y13 - holy shit.
> 
> [my tumblr !](http://ho1yhell.tumblr.com/) \- feel free to continue to send prompts!


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